


A Mother's Love

by Kal_El_Fornia



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: A choice, Child, Family, Gen, mother - Freeform, motherless, son - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-02-20 10:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2424794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kal_El_Fornia/pseuds/Kal_El_Fornia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The words of her House were 'Family. Duty. Honor.', and now was the first time that Catelyn had ever felt that she was truly living up to them. Jon would be her son, and she would be his mother. By the word of King Robert of the House Baratheon, the First of His Name, Jon Snow would become Jon Stark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Now, I am not a fan of Catelyn Stark for many reasons, but the one thing that I do admit is that she is a woman who loves her children. That's why I've always felt that one of the most intriguing and complex relationships in the series of _**Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire**_ , is the one between Catelyn Stark and her sort-of stepson of Jon Snow. I decided to explore a bit of it, with a little thought that popped into my head.

Quote of the day:

  
__**My father's wife is old and harsh with years,**  
And drudge of all my father's house am I—  
My bread is sorrow and my drink is tears.  
Come back to me, Beloved, or I die!

_**—[Rudyard Kipling](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RudyardKipling),  The Love Song of Har Dyal** _

* * *

"Jon Snow."

The name lingered in the cold air of Winterfell as she said it, and Catelyn Stark wasn't sure what she felt, whether it was anger or hatred, envy or betrayal, or perhaps an odd combination of all the above, the woman unable to hide her frown as she stared down at the sleeping babe silently drowsing in his cradle, the child unaware of what he was, and of just what kind of life awaited him. She knew that it was one thing for a Lord to have a bastard or two, that even King Robert Baratheon himself was rumored to have them all across Westeros, but it was another altogether for a Lord to demand on raising his baseborn son among his own trueborn children, as Eddard currently was with their dear little Robb and the bastard Jon Snow.

A recent sour memory came to her in that moment, of little Robb and her husband's bastard giggling together and crawling to one another in front of the fireplace in the way that only children who love each other do, and even though the thought of it made her stomach twist in ways that made Catelyn ashamed of herself, every time she thought of the boy and her son, every time she thought of this Jon Snow, the bitterness in her heart only grew. Even now she knew that Robb would grow to love his father's bastard, that he would maybe even see him as a brother, and Lady Stark felt like the worst woman in the world, wishing in that moment with all her soul that her baby boy could grow to hate this child named Snow. Perhaps the worst thing about it all though, the thing that made Catelyn twist and turn even in her sleep, was the way that even now, that Eddard often looked down and smiled at Jon in the same way that he smiled down to Robb.

Catelyn's thoughts were interrupted when she heard some walking through the hallway behind the door of Jon's room, and the woman froze in place, not sure what people were to say if they found her alone with Ned's bastard. They wouldn't say anything directly to her face of course, for she was the Lady of Winterfell, but they would most definitely whisper about it behind her back. It was no secret that she had no love for Jon Snow, and what would people think if they found her standing over the bastard boy, with no one else there to see?

As the steps in the corridor behind her faded though, and as the only sounds that then kept her company were a babe's soft snores and the cold wind that eternally raged on in the North, Catelyn's gaze once more rested on Snow. Her hands gripped onto the barricade of the boy's crib, and as she watched him, Snow looking just like Robb did as he slept, her thoughts drifted off once more, not only to Jon, but to what the bastard represented to her own family of House Tully. By every social grace in Westeros, the bastard boy's existence was an affront from House Stark to the honor of House Tully, and Ned's insistence on raising the boy as his own, at the side of his trueborn son, was more than just a slight to Catelyn's own honor; it was one of the greatest forms of disrespect that a husband could show to his wife.

She frowned as another memory then came to her, of her little brother Edmure, and of the future Lord's very last visit to Winterfell not so long ago. Edmure had shown up with his host, to feast and drink and to forever proclaim the friendship between Winterfell and Riverrun, and the night was mostly a haze to Catelyn if she had to be honest, except for the moment where she caught her younger brother sneaking off from the feast, carrying with him two small wrapped boxes, one for his nephew Robb, and one for a boy named Jon Snow. She still remembered what Edmure had said, that it wasn't little Jon's fault that Ned had betrayed her trust, and that at the end of the day that he wasn't some great insult that stained House Tully's honor, but instead that Jon was just a child; one that would never know a mother's love. She still remembered her little brother's words that pierced her heart, and she still remembered the red mark and the look of surprise on his face after she had slapped him.

Soon enough though, another sound interrupted her thoughts once again, but this time, it wasn't any sound from the corridor behind her. Jon was awake now and staring at her, and for a moment, the two of them couldn't help but to continue gazing at one another, Jon for a reason that Catelyn wasn't sure, and Catelyn for a brief second feeling just a twinge of something motherly whirl inside her as she watched the boy in the crib below her. The two shared solemn faces with one another, baby Jon gurgling something incoherent, before the bastard boy did something that surprised her, Catelyn never once having shown the babe anything even close to affection. He smiled at her.

She watched as the stirring child reached out into the air, it's babbling slowly turning into tears, and she knew just what exactly it was that this young Jon Snow wanted. Like any babe, the child yearned for its mother, a woman he would never know, and for a moment, a fleeting one that would forever define her relationship with this boy, Catelyn Stark and Jon Snow were the only two people in the world. And so, she did the only thing she felt she could.

She walked away.

* * *

Leave me feedback or make a request! I like feedback, and I try to do every one-shot request that anybody ever sends me.


	2. The Aeneid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stranger had stayed his dark and terrifying hand, and the gods had answered her prayers in saving the life of a little boy named Snow, and so Catelyn now had a price to pay; a price that could only be paid in love.

I'm not sure why, but I decided to continue this story. I'm not sure how long it's going to be, but I figured it would be an interesting exercise to explore the would-be relationship between Jon Snow and Catelyn Stark. This will be done only in short 1k+ words snippets, but I feel that as of now such a thing is appropriate.

Quote of the day:

**_"She had three sons before Catherine was born; and instead of dying in bringing the latter into the world, as anybody might expect, she still lived on—lived to have six children more—to see them growing up around her, and to enjoy excellent health herself."_ **

**— Jane Austen, _Northanger Abbey_**

* * *

"Jon Stark."

The name sounded so foreign to Catelyn Stark as she said it, but she read it over and over again with her husband Ned at her side, the two of them feeling different things as they stared down at the proclamation sent by King Robert Baratheon himself. She had hated the boy, she had hated what he was, and she had hated how many times his stranger's eyes had reminded her of her husband's betrayal of her, but she had made a promise to the gods both Old and New, and a promise to the Heavens is something that few seldom turn their backs on. The Stranger had stayed his dark and terrifying hand, and the gods had answered her prayers in saving the life of a little boy named Snow, and so Catelyn now had a price to pay; a price that could only be paid in love.

She stood up from her chair slowly then, never having expected the raven from King's Landing to have come so quickly. She wondered what her family in Riverrun would think when they found out that she planned to raise the still young Jon as her son, that she would be the mother she always should have been to him, and she wondered what the other noblewomen of the other noble Houses would think, and if any of them would be able to look into the eyes of a boy named Snow or Storm or Flowers, and still be able to call them son. She wondered what Ned thought, what he felt in his heart, what he had felt in the deepest pools of his soul, when she had gone to him the morning after that terrifying night where the Stranger had loomed over Jon. Most of all though she wondered about Jon, about that boy who still thought that his name was Snow. Would he believe her when she told him that she loved him? Would he always carry that doubt, or that shame, or that resentment with him to the contrary in the back of his mind? She swallowed hard at the thought, hard truths being called so for a reason.

Catelyn turned to leave, but stopped when she felt Ned gently grab onto her arm. He was looking away from Robert's letter for the first time since they had opened it, and the Lady of Winterfell was surprised for a moment, seeing just the barest hint of a smile on her husband's normally stoic face, with eyes staring back at her that were more misty than she had ever seen on Ned. She could see that he was holding things back, things that she knew that her husband would be able to let go when he was finally alone again. She wasn't sure what these things were, whether it was tears, or smiles, or prayers to the Weirwood trees of his ancient gods, perhaps even all of the above, but it was in the next moment that she finally understood that she had done the right thing, Ned's voice cracking for the first time since the night that she had married him.

"Thank you."

All she offered was a smile before she left to go find Jon, no words ever being enough for that moment in time.

She already knew where Jon would be at this time of the day, and Catelyn Stark held her head up high as she exited the castle of Winterfell, heading in the direction of Ser Rodrik and his training ground. The words of her House were 'Family. Duty. Honor.', and now was the first time that Catelyn had ever felt that she was truly living up to them. Jon would be her son, and she would be his mother. By the word of King Robert of the House Baratheon, the First of His Name, Jon Snow would become Jon Stark.

Catelyn knew she had been right about Jon's location the moment that the clashing of wooden swords came within her hearing. She walked slowly, her life and the life of her newest son only one conversation away from changing forever, and she felt a lump grow inside her throat, wanting to lodge itself there forever and wanting to forget that she had ever made a promise to the gods in the first place. There was a chill in the air that morning, a cold that seemed appropriate for how Lady Stark had felt the moment that she had read the letter from Robert, and she took a moment to look around at the different people who went about their daily lives at Winterfell, all of them being just as clueless as Jon about what was about to happen.

Robb and Jon stopped fighting as soon as they saw Catelyn approach them, and both Ser Rodrik and Theon Greyjoy looked towards her, the two of them unsure about why the Lady of Winterfell had decided to grace them with a visit. Robb's eyes met her own, obviously curious as to what exactly was the reason for her presence, but the boy said nothing, Catelyn sure that he was simply waiting for his mother to announce it herself. Ser Rodrik and the ward Theon Greyjoy were equally as quiet as was her oldest son, and their eyes rested on her as well, but Catelyn decided to ignore the three of them for the moment, instead deciding to focus on Jon Stark, even if the boy had lowered his head from the moment that she had come to them.

"Jon," she said in a tender voice that surprised all those who heard it, "I would like to have a talk with you."

She could see the fear in the boy's eyes when he looked up at her, and the surprise and worry on the faces of the others, with the exception of Theon giving one of his famous smirks, and it was then that Catelyn decided to do something that was even more surprising than the tenderness she had shown her husband's bastard.

She smiled at him.

* * *

So, this snippet is done and I'll see you next time!

**Incoming projects in the future:**

-Short one-shot about Cersei, were she to give Robert a true born Baratheon son.

-A one-shot about Brienne of Tarth as a young girl, and her relationship with her father.

-A multi-chapter story about a King Robb Stark who wins the War of the Five Kings, and who with a heavy heart a decade later has to march North to fight the King-Beyond-the-Wall, a man named Jon Snow.

-And a continuation of my Game of Thrones AU, which is a retelling of the series in a modern mafia setting.


	3. The Columbiad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Jon Snow stared back at her, all she saw were the brown eyes of a stranger.

Back again after a while, and let's hope that next time isn't as long. Can't wait til the next season of GoT coming up really soon.

Quote of the day:

_**Mr. Maclay** : This is insane. You people have no right to interfere with Tara's affairs. We are her blood kin! Who the hell are you? _

_**Buffy** : We're family._

- _Buffythe Vampire Slayer,_

* * *

"Do you believe in the Old Gods, Jon?"

Catelyn asked it almost as an afterthought as she turned to face the boy, and she remained quiet for a moment, curious as to what Snow would say. Ever his father's son Jon gave a simple nod, and Catelyn soon returned it, already knowing that there was no way the boy would have anything but respect for the Starks' ancient Gods of the Forest. Jon was a son of Winterfell, and his gods were the gods of the Lords of Winter, and the Kings in the North.

Perhaps that was why she brought him to the Wolfswood when she told him that she needed to talk to him, even if she still had yet to tell him that his name was no longer Jon Snow. Calling the boy Stark…calling him son, would take some getting used to for Catelyn, and the two of them stood silent as they watched each other, the shadows of things long left looming over them. It was said in hushed whispers that the ghost of Lyanna haunted the marriage of King Robert and Queen Cersei, the Stark girl being a wraith of Robert's heart that had never truly left the King. She was never one to believe old stories such as that, but as she watched the boy she had to remind herself was named Jon Stark, she wondered if a shade of Ned's past would finally be stirred up from the Beyond to become a ghost of Winterfell. As Jon Snow stared back at her, all she saw were the brown eyes of a stranger.

"I'm not sure if I do," Catelyn finally continued, a cold Northern chill flowing over her as she spoke, "but even now I feel a thousand eyes watching me…waiting."

She remembered feeling the same way during the first time that Ned had brought her to Winterfell after the war that had claimed most of his family. For a long time on that trip she had been silent with her husband, smiling only at the times that little Robb looked up at her with those bright shining eyes of his, and she remembered finding solace in the fact that her Robb was born by the river, somewhere far away from the North. She had wanted to hate Ned, she had wanted to send his bastard son to go off and live with the mother who bore him, and she remembered that she had cried more than once, for Ned's betrayal, and for a dream she had of Brandon.

_S_ he wasn't quite sure where in Dreamland that Brandon had taken her, but she laughed along with him as his ghost took her in his arms and swung her for a moment, Catelyn feeling like a girl again as he did so. They were in a meadow by a river, nowhere like Brandon's own North that was so dreary and cold, and instead she found herself smiling as she listened to the familiar sound of the nearby flowing water, laughing in the sun. It wasn't until she woke that she realized that Brandon was dead, and that even so, she had still become the Lady of Winterfell.

Jon _s_ oon brought Catelyn back to the moment that the two were sharing, and the boy had decided to ask his father's wife a question, although he looked to the ground, which was what he normally did whenever he had to speak with the mother of his siblings. "Waiting for what, Lady Stark?"

_For a promise to be kept._

"What is it that you want to do in life, Jon Snow?" Catelyn answered the boy's question with a question of her own, and she gave him a curious look as she did so, knowing that her last words were going to be the final time that she would ever call this boy Snow.

She saw the hesitation in his face, and she spoke again with softer words than before. "I promise I won't get mad no matter what you say."

There was still reluctance, that much was easy enough to see, but even so, Catelyn knew that the boy was going to speak his mind. She may have been cold to Jon, she may not have been the mother to him that she swore to Gods both Old and New that she was now going to try to be, but if there was one thing that Jon knew about her, it was that she always told the truth. The boy met eyes with her again, but this time they looked different than before. In a way she had not ever seen, Jon looked proud and fierce. She remembered the stroll in Dreamland in the meadow by the river, and for a moment little Jon Stark reminded her of Brandon.

"I want to join the Night's Watch."

In another time and place, those would have been words that Catelyn would have rejoiced at. She knew the oath well enough to know that saying them would mean that Jon would relinquish any of his non-existent claim to Winterfell, and that that would also mean that any of her children, or Robb's children, would be safe from any kind of rebellion. After what she had promised however to save Jon from the Stranger's hand, they now sounded hollow to her.

She responded quietly, but she kept her tone stern, preemptively quelling any of the protests she expected. "I won't let you do that."

_A mother protects her son._

Catelyn lifted a finger to silence the boy when a flash of contempt came across his face, and she continued on, knowing that her son needed to hear what she had to say. "At least not yet. That was something that you decided as Jon Snow. So tell me, what is it that you want to do in life, Jon Stark?"

Her son's anger soon faded away, instead being replaced with confusion. He looked at her unsure of what she said or meant, and for the second time that day Catelyn smiled at the boy who was now named Jon Stark. Neither of them had any clue as to what awaited Jon in his life after today, but perhaps they could figure it out together.

Somewhere far away, there was laughter in the sun.

* * *

Next chapter is going to deal either with Jon being awkward with the whole being a Stark thing, or Catelyn dealing with Theon who acts like kind of a dick to Jon.

 

 

 


End file.
